University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Brevard (Exhibition)
Men's Basketball Loses Exhibition Game to Brevard 73-69
11.09.2009 | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Jonathan Whitson scored 22 points and 10 rebounds as Division II Brevard slipped past homestanding UNC Asheville 73-69 in an exhibition game at Justice Center Monday night.
The Tornados trailed 62-54 with six minutes left but out-scored the Bulldogs 19-7 over the final five minutes to get the victory.
"We didn't play smart enough or good enough to beat a good team like Brevard tonight," commented Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. "Brevard just out-played us for most of the evening and deserved to win.
"We still have a chance to be a good basketball team but we've got a lot of work to do," added Biedenbach. "We took bad shots and let them dominate us inside. It's a long season and hopefully we learned a lot tonight."
Sean Smith scored 22 points for the Bulldogs, while Matt Dickey added 11 points. John Williams finished with 10 points.
The Tornados got 15 points and seven rebounds from Sam Carlisle and 13 points from Josh Roper.
Asheville 54-46 with 12 minutes left but seemed to take control of the game with a 16-0 run to race to a 62-54 lead. Smith and Williams combined for 12 points during the run.
But then Brevard went to work. The Tornados got two lay-ups to cut the lead to 62-58. A long trey from Roper cut the lead to 62-61. Roper then forced a steal and scored on a three-point play to give the visitors a 64-62 lead. A Darren Dellinger three-pointer finished the 15-0 run as Brevard led 67-62 with two minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs could get no closer than three points the rest of the way as Brevard won an exhibition game for the second in five years against Asheville.
The Bulldogs had a miserable night shooting as they shot 38 percent (23-of-60) from the field. Brevard shot 46 percent (31-of-68) from the field. The Tornados out-rebounded Asheville 40-38.
The Bulldogs open the regular season at Charlotte Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
